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Newspaper circulation in Brazil grows; Folha takes the lead

Folha took the lead among Brazilian newspapers in December 2012, surpassing the popular daily "Super Notícia " of Minas Gerais, in number of copies in daily circulation.

The number of copies of Folha in circulation reached a daily average of 297,650, according to data from IVC (Circulation Verification Institute) released yesterday.

The level, which includes paper and digital platforms, represents an increase of 4% in December last year compared to the same month of 2011, exceeding by 26% the circulation of "O Estado de S. Paulo", which dropped 11% in the same period.

For the year, Folha's circulation grew 0.3%, while "Estado " had a 4.9% drop.

According to data from the IVC, which audits about one hundred titles in the country, including non-daily publications, the newspaper market grew 1.8% last year.

With the growth, the average daily circulation in the country was 4.52 million copies, an historical record, according to the organization.

DIGITAL

According to Pedro Martins Silva, president of the IVC, the increase was driven by the expansion of digital editions of newspapers, 128% in 2012 over the previous year.

"The digital editions grew strongly and will continue moving forward, with increasing access to mobile devices and broadband in the country and due to the largest investment of newspapers in that channel," he said.

In December, the share of digital copies reached 4% of the circulation of Brazilian newspapers. Year to date, the share accounted for 3.2% of the total.

Of the hundred titles audited by the IVC, 24 already have a digital version of the publication, which is adapted for reading on mobile devices or just on the computer, says Silva. Within this universe, the digital editions represent 11% of the circulation.

In 2011, 17 newspapers audited by the IVC had a digital edition.&#8232;

The IVC estimate is that the share of digital editions reaches 6% this year, if it keeps the rate of growth in the number of newspapers that offer their versions in this format at 120% per year.

According to Silva, the sector expansion of 1.8% in 2012, exceeded the growth of the economy, which does not happen in other countries. "Around the world, newspapers have reduced their circulation, which does not happen here," he says.

INDIVIDUAL SALES

According to the numbers from the IVC, the newspaper subscriptions grew by 3.4%. The number of individual sales was stable.

This occurs, according to Silva, because the "downloads" of digital editions are not counted as individual sales, on a technicality.

The institute's consolidated data also show that the popular papers (up to R$0.99) grew 1.3% in 2012. Those costing more than R$2.00 were up 1.4% in circulation.

IN ENGLAND

The "Financial Times", according to an internal document obtained by the British press, will reduce its staff by 25 professionals (from the current 600). According to the plan, there will be a cut of 35 journalists and the hiring of ten, all for the digital area, one of the priorities of the newspaper.

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